Even in the simplest supply chain, setting the linkage between liner shipping companies and port operators can be regarded as demand and supplyoriented upstream and downstream partnering. Liner vessels visit ports as customers and their desire is driven according to their schedules as well as their hinterland shippers and technology developments. Port operators use every effort to meet the demands and could attract more and more ships by, e.g. good reputation, reliability and agile responses. Thinking about logistic networks in depth, liner shipping transportations and ports obviously act as
threads and nodes (i.e. routes or lines and ports) individually, which build up logistics and supply-chain networks. Any minor improvements to the threads or nodes, such as faster mega vessels or newly designed handling cranes, could decrease, e.g. time-oriented measures such as total flow times or lead times within the logistics network and increase customer satisfaction.